The Guardian

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including a veiled chameleon and other animals enjoying the quieter streets

Research into North Atlantic plankton likely to lead to negative revision of global climate calculations

The North Atlantic may be a weaker climate ally than previously believed, according to a study that suggests the ocean’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide has been overestimated.

A first-ever winter and spring sampling of plankton in the western North Atlantic showed cell sizes were considerably smaller than scientists assumed, which means the carbon they absorb does not sink as deep or as fast, nor does it stay in the depths for as long.

Food safety agency’s decision could put mealworms, locusts and baby crickets on menus

It is being billed as the long-awaited breakthrough moment in European gastronomy for mealworm burgers, locust aperitifs and cricket granola.

In the next few weeks the EU’s European Food Safety Authority is expected by the insect industry to endorse mealworms, lesser mealworms, locusts, baby crickets and adult crickets as being safe for human consumption.

Fewer law enforcement officials going into the field open door for land invasions, indigenous communities and NGOs warn

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The coronavirus pandemic is weakening Brazilian state protection for the Amazon rainforest and its people ahead of this year’s fire season, according to indigenous communities and international NGOs.

Fewer law enforcement officials are going out into the field and monitoring missions are being scaled back, opening the door for more land invasions and forest clearance, they warn.

Women are leading a volunteer effort to care for elders and vulnerable people across the tribe’s vast, poorly served territory

In mid-March, shortly after the Navajo Nation declared a public health state of emergency, Ethel Branch went out to stock up on supplies for her elderly mother and nieces who live on the Native American reservation.

Branch, who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, spent all day going from store to store trying to find canned soups, soap and toilet paper. Many had sold out, while others were price gouging amid rising panic about the coronavirus pandemic.

East Riding of Yorkshire council says coastal birds could be more aggressive due to lack of food

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They are already the scourge of the seaside day tripper, mounting mobbing raids on those enjoying fish and chips.

Now, with the coronavirus lockdown and all but essential travel banned, coastal residents are being warned seagulls could be more aggressive than usual because of a drop in their preferred food source.

Moving summit gives world time to respond to coronavirus and may allow a new US leader to join talks

Green campaigners and climate leaders have vowed to keep up the pressure on governments around the world to make stringent new commitments on the climate crisis, as a vital UN climate summit was delayed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Cop26 talks were scheduled to take place this November in Glasgow, but the UK hosts won a delay on Wednesday night from the UN and other nations, after weeks of speculation the talks would be cancelled.

Video by activists appears to show cruel treatment of weeks-old cattle transported on long journeys to Europe for veal

Footage which appears to show Irish calves being beaten and kicked at a French feeding station has been published by animal campaign groups.

The video, published by Eyes on Animals (EoA) and French welfare organisation L214, appears to show workers repeatedly beating calves that are a few weeks old with sticks. One is kicked and another is dragged away, unable to stand. The calf was euthanised by a vet, said an EoA observer.

Air quality index peaks at three across England and Wales, but wood fires and farming continue to cause pollution

We think of spring as the time of blossom and fresh new green growth, but it is often the most polluted time of year in western Europe. Last week, as winds turned easterly, particle pollution once again spread across western Europe. Spring smogs can cause particle pollution to reach the top value of 10 in the UK air quality index, but four to nine is more typical.

With the lockdown in place, the increases were less than normal. The air quality index peaked at three over most of England and Wales. A few places in south-east England, Yorkshire and north Wales reached four, the level where health advisory messages are issued. After three days, a welcome change of wind direction at the weekend pushed the polluted air southwards.

RSPB’s Big Garden Watch finds numbers rising, along with coal tits, wrens and long-tailed tits

The decline of the house sparrow in British gardens appears to be reversing, according to the latest RSPB national garden survey.

As well as a rise in house sparrows, the milder winter also brought long-tailed tits, wrens and coal tits to British gardens in huge numbers this year.

Coronavirus pandemic could force crucial conference to be delayed until May next year

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The UK is poised to postpone the UN climate talks due to be held in Glasgow later this year to next spring as governments struggle to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The most important climate negotiations since the Paris agreement in 2015 were scheduled to take place this November to put countries back on track to avoid climate breakdown. They are now expected to be pushed back as late as May 2021.

Major review reports recovery of marine life but a redoubling of efforts is still needed

The glory of the world’s oceans could be restored within a generation, according to a major new scientific review. It reports rebounding sea life, from humpback whales off Australia to elephant seals in the US and green turtles in Japan.

Through rampant overfishing, pollution and coastal destruction, humanity has inflicted severe damage on the oceans and its inhabitants for centuries. But conservation successes, while still isolated, demonstrate the remarkable resilience of the seas.

Former EU climate chief Miguel Arias Cañete fears end of Covid-19 will bring higher carbon emissions

Financial help from taxpayers to airlines hit by the coronavirus crisis must come with strict conditions on their future climate impact, the former EU climate commissioner and a group of green campaigners have said.

“It must be conditional, otherwise when we recover we will see the same or higher levels of carbon dioxide [from flying],” said Miguel Arias Cañete, the EU climate commissioner who led the bloc to the Paris agreement, in an interview with the Guardian. “We know the level of emissions we have to commit to [under Paris]. They [airlines] are worried about survival and will need lots of support, lots of liquidity – that gives them a big responsibility.”

Lisa Nandy, Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey answer 17 questions put by the Guardian

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Transforming the energy efficiency of every home, mass rewilding of the countryside, huge investment in cycling, walking and buses, and a “frequent flyer” tax are among a raft of green policies being put forward by the politicians vying to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party.

In answers to 17 questions put by the Guardian before the coronavirus outbreak, all three remaining candidates – Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Keir Starmer – set out detailed plans on how they would go about tackling the dual environmental crises of climate breakdown and mass extinction, and shed light on how the party under their leadership would tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the UK, and the world.

Analysis of underwater photographs has demonstrated what marine biologists have long suspected – seasonal fish migrations

New research has finally demonstrated what many marine biologists suspected but had never before seen: fish migrating through the deep sea.

The study, published this month in the Journal of Animal Ecology, used analysis of deep-sea photographs to show a regular increase in the number of fish in particular months, suggesting seasonal migrations.

Verdict expected after four years of protracted talks as production of the fossil fuel fell to record lows of 2.9m tonnes

Ministers will decide this month whether to give the green light to plans for the UK’s largest coalmine after years of fierce opposition from environmentalists.

A letter from the government’s lawyers, seen by the Guardian, said the government will draw a line on the protracted battle to develop an opencast mine at Highthorn in Northumberland by giving a verdict on the plans by Tuesday 7 April.

Migration to European breeding grounds from Africa is harder due to evolutionary changes

The nightingale was feted by John Keats as a “light-winged Dryad of the trees”. But the much-celebrated small bird with a beautiful song may be increasingly endangered because its wings are getting shorter.

The nightingale makes an epic journey from sub-Saharan Africa to breed in Europe each summer but there are barely 7,000 nesting pairs left in England.

A new report by the NGO Tearfund calls out four of the biggest single-use plastic polluters, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pepsi-Co and Unilever. Photographs from Tanzania show the scale of the problem

Story: Drink firms’ massive footprint

Exclusive: Mass bleaching seen along Great Barrier Reef could mark start of global-scale event, expert warns

Rising ocean temperatures could have pushed the world’s tropical coral reefs over a tipping point where they are hit by bleaching on a “near-annual” basis, according to the head of a US government agency program that monitors the globe’s coral reefs.

Dr Mark Eakin, coordinator of Coral Reef Watch at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Guardian Australia there was a risk that mass bleaching seen along the length of the Great Barrier Reef in 2020 could mark the start of another global-scale bleaching event.

• Announcement will allow vehicles to emit 1bn more tons of CO2
• Experts say move will lead to more life-threatening air pollution

The Trump administration is rolling back the US government’s strongest attempt to combat the climate crisis, weakening rules which compel auto companies to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Critics say the move will lead to more life-threatening air pollution and force Americans to spend more on gasoline.

Related: New US measures threaten civil rights amid coronavirus pandemic